Mahjong Missions in Mongkok

Hello to you, my loves! I hope your holiday season was as fantastic as you are and that you were surrounded by your loved ones, experienced a new city or stuffed your face with food. Either way, I hope it was magical. If traveling more is one of your New Year’s resolutions then I want to be as supportive as possible. One of mine is to help inspire and provide as much insight through this site. I have a lot planned for you in 2017 and I hope you are excited as I am. I’ve missed you and hope you thought about me as much as I have thought of you in the past six months. I assure you, I will not be so distracted again. You, my dear reader, are my priority this year and I’ll prove it with a new post every Friday.

My newest travels took me to Hong Kong and I never expected to fall in love after 34 hours. The markets, the culture, the food, the difference from town to town and the architecture. Each and every one has its own personality.

Transportation:

The Metro (MTR) was very convenient and fairly easy to navigate if you pay attention. If you are like me and daydream as you stare out the window, you might have a difficult time catching your exit. If you are in Hong Kong for one night, then the 24 hour Tourist pass is definitely the way to go if you’re planning on making several stops. It cost $65HK which is around $8US. I had to purchase that through the customer service booth in the station.

My recommendation, don’t look down at your phone. Since Hong Kong is surrounded by water, the view is spectacular and depending on the time you go, the fog on the water is spooky yet beautiful.

Busy train

Fung Chai:

We stayed in Fung Chai which is about a 15 minute drive from the airport. Close by there is also a really crowded mall. Before taking the MTR, Vicky (coworker and new friend I met that day) and I had breakfast then walked around the shops.

Once you get to know me, you will discover that I am an avid milk tea drinker having once worked at a boba shop once upon a time. So of course, I ordered the Hong Kong milk tea. That drink is strong! They put a ton of condensed milk but it still tastes super bitter.

First breakfast with toast and milk tea

Funny story: I was having troubles ordering rice at the dim sum place I went to. The waitress did not speak a lick of English and I ventured off to lunch by myself. Being the ignorant person that I am, I assumed rice was the same in every country. Needless to say, Google Translate saved the day.

Dim sum meal in Federal Palace

Mongkok:

A town known for their Ladies’ Market and Sneaker Street, Mongkok is a vastly busy area with a plethora of places to go shopping. The shops range from high end stores to pitched up tents where you can haggle for the best knock offs. All of the shops are close together and piled high in sky rises, the streets are never empty and it is easy to get anxious because of the little personal space you have.

Vicky and I were on a mission to find a dirt cheap mahjong set and knock-off Yeezy’s. Mahjong is a popular and traditional Chinese gambling game that requires ceramic tiles with Chinese characters and numbers engraved in them. Now, we were two Asian girls determined to find what we were looking for so when I tell you we were on a mission…we were on a freaking mission. We ended up finding what we both were searching for and in doing so, found a new appreciation for haggling (my mom will be so proud).

The only down side is that the Mahjong set was the same amount as one you could find on Amazon in the states. So Vicky didn’t get her set. I came back to the hotel with three knock-off Yeezy’s, a real leather purse, a knock-off Daniel Wellington watch, and lingerie.

Mongkok streets with smushed signs and buildings

Ladies’ Market

Mango with tofu.. so simple but so good

Tsim Sha Tsui:

Most definitely the wealthier side of town where people come to eat during their business meetings. There are high end stores and the streets are constructed like British streets. Since Hong Kong was under British rule until 1997, a lot of the buildings and streets were English inspired with the double deckers and the convenient public transit. I was surprised by the beauty and culture change from Mongkok to TST.

Art work exhibiting global warming in TST

Victoria Harbour:

Eventually, I was drawn to the water and we ended up watching the sunset in Victoria Harbour. Since the sun sets in the East, we didn’t really see it but it was still a magnificent view. Upon sitting their, marveling on our jobs and how lucky we were to see this beautiful city, a pirate ship floated by us and I was excited by how strange the picture looked. It’s as if Jack Sparrow commandeered a Chinese ship and sailed it through to the 21st century amongst high rises and lighted signs amidst the fog.

Of course, I wish we went on to the hipster side of town (Central) or was given enough time to go to Hong Kong Disney or even to the fish markets to see white dolphins. I will most definitely come back for a longer trip with a video. I hope you enjoyed this post! Be sure to comment, like, subscribe and get my weekly emails. I love you, guys and have a Happy Chinese New Year this weekend! Kung Hay Fat Choi.